Sean Connery James Bond 6-Film 4K Collection
review by Bobby Blakey
The James Bond franchise is one that has done something that no other film series has been able to do and stays relevant and successful while constantly changing up the lead star. Easily the most iconic and popular of them all is the late great Sean Connery. Out of over 20 films in the franchise he only starred in 7 of the films but made the lasting impression and to some the only true James Bond. Now Warner Bros is bringing together a collection of six James Bond films starring Sean Connery as 007 on 4K for the first time for the ultimate at home movie-watching experience.
The first Bond film, Dr. No hit theaters in 1962 and follows James Bond, a resourceful British government agent, who seeks answers in the disappearance of a fellow spy and a plot to disrupt an American space program. In 1963, Bond was back in action with From Russia With Love where he willingly falls into an assassination plot involving a naive Russian beauty in order to retrieve a Soviet encryption device that was stolen by the organization Spectre.
In 1964 Bond returned with Goldfinger where he investigated a gold magnate’s smuggling and uncovers a plot to contaminate the Fort Knox gold reserve. This is
also the entry that really set the stage for the plot devices, characters and the Bond we know today. With Thunderball in 1965, Bond who headed to the Bahamas to recover two nuclear warheads stolen by S.P.E.C.T.R.E. agent Emilio Largo in an international extortion scheme. This film was also remade in a sense with Connery as Never Say Never Again marking the final time he would take on the role but was not an Eon Production.
James Bond teamed up with the Japanese Secret Service for 1967s You Only Live Twice to find and stop the true culprit of a series of space hijackings, before war is provoked between Russia and the United States. Connery’s last outing as Bond with Eon productions was Diamonds Are Forever in 1971 that followed diamond smuggling investigation that leads James Bond to Las Vegas where he uncovers an evil plot involving a rich business tycoon.
I love all things James Bond and as classic as the older films are some of them don’t hold up as much as I thought. Both Dr. No and From Russia With Love are kind of slow despite still being entertaining. Most of that is thanks to the charm and charisma of Connery himself. From Goldfinger on they feel more like the Bond we know with more focus on the action and more outlandish villains making more entertaining films.
Outside of the ongoing threat of SPECTRE the series kept each film as its one standalone story with just enough nods to other entries to keep the scope bigger. There are plenty of elements that would not hold up today, mostly with the treatment of woman, but that is of the time and of Bond himself. He might be suave and cool, but he is still a typical alpha male of the time. It’s the character and how he is even in the newer films just tweaked to not be so blatant in some regards.
Let’s be real, these films are all iconic in their own right as well as a franchise and fans love them. Connery had it all and is perfect in the role and no matter what you might think of the character or the films themselves there is no denying his great performances. The new 4K transfers look really good bringing these classic films to more vibrant life and will no doubt be a must have for fans of the series.
Join Bond on his earliest missions when the Sean Connery Bond 6-Film Collection hits 4K for the first time on June 10th from MGM and Warner Home Entertainment.